Subject: Re: Yankee Doodle/Macaroni

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 1994 20:28:14 EST

A long time ago in Palermo, a wealthy noble owned a cook  called Tufoli who
drank.  One day, in a drunken artistic rapture, Tufoli devised long, hollow
tubes from hard wheat flour.  Still in his state of culinary composition,
he whipped up a rich, succulent  white sauce with grated parmesan cheese.

Tufoli filled a large china bowl with this delicious compound and set it
before his Lord.  With deference, he staggered two steps backward, wrung 
his hands, and , with bowed head , awaited the outcome.  After all, his
boss was an epicure.  And Sicilians can get mean if you upset them.

The first mouthfull elicited 'Cari', equivalent to 'excellent' in the form
of Sicilian peculiar to that time.  The second bit brought forth 'Ma Cari'
or 'excellent, indeed'.

As the flavour of this dish grew upon him, the Sicilian Lord's enthusiasm
increased, and he cried out passionately 'M a Caroni!,  Ma Caroni! or,
'Indeed most supremely, sublimely and suprilatively excellent!

In  paying this tribute to Tufoli's belly-sticking discovery, he
unwittingly bestowed a name upon that admirable preparation that's stuck to
it ever since.

Pat Fortnum
F&M
Toronto